This invention is generally concerned with envelope transporting apparatus and more particularly with apparatus for transporting an envelope including structure for reorienting the envelope.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,680,044 for a Paper Handling Machine, issued Aug. 7, 1928 to R. Hitchcock, sheet conveying structures which include a plurality of elongate, parallel-spaced, rollers for feeding sheets into engagement with a registration fence, have been provided with a row of a idler balls, each of which is supported in overhanging relationship with one of the feed rollers, for urging the sheets into feeding engagement with the rollers. Moreover, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,469,168 for a Sheet Turning Device, issued Sept. 25, 1923 to J. A. Mets, provision has been made for feeding respective sheets into an arcuate slot, extending at an angle to the path of travel of the sheets, to turn the sheets at right angles to the path of travel.
It has been found that in order to minimize the likelihood of feeding more than one envelope at a time from a stack of envelopes, the envelopes are preferably oriented such that the front, or address, wall portion of the body of the envelope is oriented upwardly, with the flap wall portion extending generally horizontally therefrom, and the envelopes are preferably fed from the stack in a manner such that the bottom edge of the body of the envelope, i.e., the edge opposite the flap wall portion, is the leading edge and the flap wall portion trails the body. On the other hand, when such envelopes are to be stuffed with inserts in the course of assembling a mailpiece, it is preferable that both the front and flap wall portions of the envelope be oriented downwardly to facilitate separation of the front and back wall portions of the body of the envelope and stuffing inserts therein.
Accordingly:
An object of the invention is to provide envelope transporting apparatus including structure for reorienting an envelope; and
Another object is to provide structure for transporting envelopes fed thereto and reorienting the envelopes to facilitate stuffing inserts therein.